Category: Reviews – Audio
Glorious metal in all its earthly forms, compressed onto shiny plastic discs or into digital files. Which ones will become the soundtrack to your life?
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Godstopper/Grizzlor split 7”
It’s been a little while since Toronto noise-rock weirdos Godstopper have graced us with an album—and somehow, said record seems to have slipped my radar completely. But as I’m just getting caught up with their latest full-length, this tasty tidbit should tide us over in the meantime—a three-song, seven-inch split with Connecticut trio Grizzlor. Godstopper…
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Hark – Machinations
Hark now hear the second record from this heavy-ass Welsh outfit! They may not sound like a choir of angels, but these Swansea slammers bring the riffs for 47 minutes on the follow-up to their 2014 debut Crystalline. And hey, their lead singer’s name is Jimbob, and he used to be in a band called…
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3rd Machine – Quantified Self
Heavy metal fans really are a spoiled bunch. The diversity of sound and styles underneath the metal umbrella is so vast that there seems to be an unlimited amount of possibilities. From the brutality of death metal, the eclecticness of prog, or the embarrassment of Nu-metal, heavy metal has your particular poison ready and waiting…
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Forming the Void – Relic
Now, I gotta say, I’m a pretty big fan of NOLA-style sludge metal. (EHG FTW!) But while Lafayette, Louisiana might just be a couple hours away from New Orleans, these native sons are several more miles removed from Crowbar or Eyehategod—while still clearly inhabiting within the stoner/doom subgenre. The second record from Forming the Void…
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Striker – Striker
When a band releases an eponymous album it’s a statement of intent, a sign of confidence, everything being as it should be. For make no mistake, Striker are a special band. As the old Metal Gods ascend to Valhalla, new gods will arise. This is Striker’s fifth album and it’s just timeless. Not retro, not…
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Unearthly Trace – Stalking the Ghost
NYC doom dealers Unearthly Trance have returned from a seven-year recording hiatus—one that gave us a pair of Serpentine Path records, mind you, as they joined up with Tim Bagshaw of Electric Wizard fame. But now the original trio’s back in business, with their sixth album, out this month on Relapse Records. You can expect…
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Mountain God – Bread Solstice
Brooklyn is probably not the first place that comes to mind when you think post-sludge. Me, I’m thinking Oakland, maybe Portland, definitely Chicago of late… But this trippy trio is coming straight outta Williamsburg on Bread Solstice, their debut LP, serving up six tracks in just over 40 minutes. Mountain God’s Artificial Head debut Some…
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Mothership – High Strangeness
I’ve been a big fan of this Dallas outfit ever since I first heard their self-titled debut in 2013, so suffice to say I’m super-stoked for this, the third record from Mothership. More heavy rock than heavy metal, these guys create a potent concoction combining AC/DC, Thin Lizzy and ZZ Top with riffs that are thicker…
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Dead – We Won’t Let You Sleep
Aussie noise-rockers Dead first crossed the pond in 2013, when their Idiots album was picked up domestically by Portland’s Eolian Empire. They played a buncha dates in the States (albeit none in Canada) afterwards, and have since put out a few splits, EPs and such, as noise-rock bands tend to do. The duo recorded this…
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Borealis – World of Silence MMXVII
It’s been nearly seven years since I reviewed an independently-released debut album from a power metal band out of Orangeville, Ontario. I liked the first Borealis record then, and unlike some of the other albums that briefly captured my attention over the years, World of Silence has stayed with me. I’m always happy for a…